


Don’t Forget, Enjoy The Ride

by nitpickyabouttrains



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Drift Compatibility, M/M, Marauders, Pacific Rim AU, Somehow I always end up writing Bo Staff fights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-04-05 06:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19043311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nitpickyabouttrains/pseuds/nitpickyabouttrains
Summary: Marauders Pacific Rim AURemus needs a new co-pilot.





	Don’t Forget, Enjoy The Ride

**Author's Note:**

  * For [angelheadedhipster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelheadedhipster/gifts).



“Come on,” Sirius said, wiping his hand across his brow. “Give it a rest.”

Remus pursed his lips to keep from laughing. This was a serious conversation. He knew that, he really did. It was just hard to concentrate when Sirius’s face was covered in motor oil. Every time he touched his face, he left a dark black streak in his wake. 

Normally, Remus would let his good friend know if there was something on his face. But in this case, the distraction was keeping him focused. Besides, he didn’t want to change the topic. 

“Why won’t you just try?” Remus asked, pressing. “It’s not like there is anything to hide.”

“You are already drift compatible with James,” Sirius said gruffly. “Why do you have to drag me in to pilot? I am better off working on the team, keeping Mischief Managed running smoothly.”

Remus rolled his eyes. Sirius had been there when James announced he was done. “You know as well as I do that Lily wants him out of the Jaeger. And James has never been able to say no to her. Especially not since the kid has been on the way. I need a new partner, otherwise they are going to ground me.”

Neither of them wanted that. Pilots needed to be out there, keeping the planet safe, keeping the Kaiju at bay. If it wasn’t Remus in Mischief Managed, it would be some other set of pilots. Neither Remus nor Sirius wanted to see their Jaeger in some other team’s hands. 

Sirius frowned at him, tilting his head to the side just a little. “What about Peter?”

It was a fair suggestion, in that Peter was also a member of their team. He mostly worked on less critical things. Like making sure there were enough sandwiches. Or cleaning the weapons after a practice session. 

“You really want to put this kind of responsibility in his hands?” Remus asked, looking up at the Jaeger they were standing under. 

It was built for power. 

The Jaeger towered over them, gold and red, all metal and shine. It was without a question a thing of beauty, even dormant. 

Sirius followed his eyes, looking up at the machine that kept them all together, that made them a family all those years ago. 

“There really isn’t anyone else?” Sirius asked, resigned. 

“No one we know,” Remus insisted. “I could ask them to do some trials, but who knows who we could get. I heard Snape was trying to move to a pilot position…”

Sirius’s eyes snapped to Remus’s face with a look of horror. It was the reaction Remus knew he would get. Not that he was was baiting Sirius on purpose, but he knew how his friend felt. 

That was what was going to make them so drift compatible. 

They could anticipate what the other one was thinking already. The neural handshake with James had always been easy because there were no secrets between the friends. It would be the same with Sirius. 

“Fine, we can try,” Sirius gave in. 

Remus grinned at him, please. “Good.”

+++

Remus pulled his shirt off over his head and picked up the bo staff. It was his favorite weapon for sparring. When he and James used to use the combat rooms to hone their compatibility, James always went for the swords. But Remus, he liked the simplicity of the staff. It took skill, but it could be just as deadly. 

And the point of the combat room wasn’t to actually injure your opponent. It was to test for compatibility, to see if you thought in a way that would work together well. 

There was nothing quite as satisfying as a well met sparring. As going up against someone of a similar skill level, who was hard to surprise. 

Which was why he was so excited to be fighting with Sirius. He knew how Sirius thought, and Sirius always seemed to know what he was going to do before he did it. It was what made them such good friends. 

It was what made Remus so sure this was going to work. 

“Does he always look this pleased with himself before sparring?” Sirius asked. One end of his bo staff was on the ground and he was leaning on it like it was a walking stick. 

“I’m not sure he  _ ever _ is this pleased with himself,” James said, leaning forward, hands on his knees. He never used to get to sit out these training sessions, and he looked thrilled to be a spectator. “And I would know, I have spent enough time in his head.”

“Can’t I just be excited for a well matched fight?” Remus asked, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. 

And he was excited. There was something extremely satisfying about being able to fight without holding back. The give and take, blow for blow, without worrying about hurting someone or being hurt. He could trust Sirius. 

The other man might have been taller, with broader shoulders, and well toned muscles from all the heavy lifting that went into taking care of the Jaeger. But Remus was fast. He was small and spry and he knew how to use it in a fight. They all had different styles, James was graceful and powerful. Peter seems to be able to get himself into and out of impossibly small spaces. 

“On my mark, then,” James said, taking on the role of referee on the sidelines. 

“Ready when you are,” Remus confirmed, taking his starting stance in the middle of the mat. He raised his bo, giving it an experimental turn in the air. 

Sirius rolled his eyes, but stood up straight, spreading his legs, and lifted his bo as well. “Count us in.”

“3-2-1-mark,” James said, dropping his hand with the last word, as if it had a handkerchief in it, and he was starting a drag race. 

Remus let the room around him drop away, and focused all his energy on the man in front of him. He took the offense first, racing toward Sirius, taking the first strike. Sirius raised his bo to meet him, and they were off. 

Staff hit staff in cracks of wood. Over and over. They had learned to fight together and it showed. Every move Remus knew, Sirius knew the counter. Every defense Sirius threw up, Remus knew how to get around. 

They circled each other, trading hits. Every so often one of them got a strike against flesh, but even that seemed not to put either of them at an advantage. 

Remus lost track of time, falling into the rhythm of the combat, until sweat was starting to get into his eyes. He could see Sirius’s arms were starting to flag from the weight of the bo, and his own legs were getting tired. 

Sirius must have seen the same thing, he panted out, “Call...it...a...tie?”

Remus nodded and they both dropped their bo staffs at the same time. Remus took in a big gulp of air. “Its...like...you...read...my...mind.”

+++

“If there was ever a doubt, it’s gone now,” Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. “You two are extremely drift compatible. Possibly even more than James and Remus. I am excited to see what happens when we begin the neural handshake.”

They were standing in front of the entrance to Mischief Managed, suited up. Dumbledore had reviewed the footage from their sparring session and insisted on setting up a trial right away. 

There was no time to waste, never knowing when they might have to go out in the Jaeger. It was better to have two pilots ready to go. So there they were, in their drivesuits, ready to give it a shot. 

Remus was excited. He loved being in his Jaeger, connected to one of his best friends, able to fight for his planet. But when he looked over at Sirius, there was a defeated look on his face, like he knew what was going to happen and he was resigned to it. 

“Are you ready to do this?” Remus asked Sirius, trying to tune out the older man and focus on his friend. If Sirius really did not want to do this, they would find another way. 

Sirius inclined his head once, looking like he was stealing himself for a fight. “As I will ever be,” he said. 

Remus nodded back, taking him at his word. Ever since the sparring session, Sirius had stopped protesting if this was a good idea. But he did not seem to be all in. But the neural handshake - you had to be there mentally for that. So maybe Sirius was just psyching himself up to it, Remus figured. 

Dumbledore kept talking at them both, but he motioned forward and the two men stepped into the Pons Interface. All outside noise disappeared as they locked themselves into position, Sirius on the left and Remus on the right. 

Spinal clamps engaged and Remus felt the familiar jolt of adrenaline shoot through his system. Relay gel began to fill the face plates of their helmets. 

“I’m sorry,” it sounded like Sirius said, but Remus could barely hear it as the gel reached the top of his helmet and blacked out all sounds and sights. 

_ What _ Remus barely managed to think before he heard the LOCCENT officer’s voice inside the speaker in his helmet. “Initiating Neural Handshake.”

And then he was flying. 

_ Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter were laughing together in their shared dorm.  _

_ Sirius and James were sitting on either side of Lily, teasing.  _

_ Sirius and Remus were working late into the night to figure out what was wrong with the Jaeger.  _

_ Remus’s face looking tired.  _

_ Remus’s face looking excited, happy.  _

_ Remus.  _

_ Remus.  _

**_Remus._ **

The images cleared back into the real world, as the two men became one with the machine. 

“Stable drift connection established,” the LOCCENT officer said. “Good test everyone, disconnecting.”

Remus could not stop thinking about what he had seen, what was in Sirius’s head. As he stepped out of his con station, and took off his helmet, he turned to look over at Sirius. 

“So you saw,” Sirius said, but he already knew. Remus could feel the hesitation coming off the other man, the uncertainty. 

“I saw,” Remus said, but he was sure. That feeling he had felt, as those images came through, it was what he had barely dared to hope for. Through the connection, the hope and the warmth and the shining light. 

Sirius must have heard something in his voice, because he looked up, hopeful. Remus stepped forward and placed a searing kiss on Sirius’s lips. 

Sirius pulled back a little, reaching out for Remus’s shoulder. “I didn’t know if you would understand, or if you would never want to talk to me again, after you saw what was in my head.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Remus said. 

+++

 


End file.
